Have you ever gone through a week and just shook our head and said, “Whoa! What was that all about?” Well, last week was that kind of week for me. It started out as most weeks start off. Working on my day off, having to meet with contractors (we are renovating a building that was donated to us) to get quotes and the like, ministry meetings and family stuff as usual.
Well, Tuesday started out pretty much the same as always and then things kind of turned “Whoaish.” I meet with four other pastors in the area for lunch and accountability. During the lunch I started to feel a little nauseous and lightheaded. Now I had had this kind of episode before and I thought it would just go away like it had the other times before. You know how hardheaded we guys can be. I even told the guys to go ahead and leave me there because I thought it would just go away. Well, about five minutes after they all left, I realized I wasn’t going to be okay. Along with the nausea and lightheadedness my chest began to hurt. That was when things started to make me go “Ummm.” I texted my wife to come and help and then my secretary had come into the Epicenter (where I was lying on the couch not being able to get up). So after a call to 911 and a first-ever ride in an ambulance I was laying in the emergency room at the Greenville hospital.
Sorry about all the boring details, but they are necessary to what I want to say. To make a long story short I ended up having to have a heart catheterization. You’ll be glad to know (well, at least I am) that all I have is a little plaque. Nothing a good toothbrush won’t take care of and taking away my salt shaker. So, I asked if you ever had a week that made you Say, “Whoa! What was that all about?” Well, those are the very words I asked God.
As I was lying in the hospital bed on Thursday just about to go in for my heart cath, a verse kept reverberating around in my heart. In my life and in my church, I believe God wants us to not just talk about him but to actually live out what we say we believe. If I say I love God, then my words, my actions, where I hang out and who I hang out with is going to match up with who and what God desires for me.
Now on Wednesday I had two visitors from my congregation, and during that visit one of them said to me, “Pastor Phil, I did something I have never done before.” This person has some physical ailments that don’t allow them to do certain things. I said, “And what was that?” They said, “Get on my knees.”
I was blown away that someone would get on their knees when it physically hurts them to do so, just to lift me up to God in prayer. “Wow!” I don’t know about you, but I realized “What the week was all about.”
In the letter to the Galatians, Paul is writing to a group of Gentile believers who were struggling in their faith. They were being told that they had to be circumcised to have faith and if they didn’t they really weren’t followers of Christ. Paul wrote and said, wait a minute, it’s not about outward things, it’s about inward things and this is what blew me away. The Lord had allowed my congregation and me to live out the Scriptures. Read to Galatians 5:6: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”
The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. The only thing that counts ... interesting!
The love that was expressed toward me because of their faith during this past week was truly amazing and I praise God from whom all blessings flow. May you get to live out the scriptures today. Peace.
Phil Beck is pastor of Central Community Church, Pymatuning Township.
Religion
Faith expressing itself in love was what that was all about
From the Pulpit
- Religion
-
-
Are we terminal generation? Signs suggest so; are you ready?
America is being threatened on all fronts. But is anyone even paying attention? Our very way of life as we know it is at stake. As Jesus revealed the future of the world to His disciples and the future church in Matthew 24, the disciples asked Jesus three critical questions concerning the future.
-
To cure our ills, we should reflect unity in our community
I write this on that special and official day that we honor the remarkable ministry and work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And by the time you read this, I will have had the privilege of addressing those gathered in West Middlesex for the Christian Unity Service, sponsored by the Christian Associates of the Shenango Valley.
-
Christmas lights gone, but would you be a light in dark times?
“Wow! Look at all the beautiful lights” was something we heard in our car driving through downtown Sharon and the surrounding communities during Christmas. For my family, John 1:4-5 says it: “The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.”
-
Blessing of Water outdoors 1st time
Area Orthodox churches will gather on the banks of the Shenango River in downtown Sharon to perform the Blessing of Water at 1 p.m. Sunday.
-
Blessings from God come with obedience to Him
I can't imagine how frustrated God must become when He watches us strut around like a Bantam rooster as we allow our pride to get the best of us.
-
A plea like that of David: God, this year please change my life
Whenever we enter into the psalms, it feels like we are entering holy ground. We are entering a person’s inner sanctum. But, to enter the inner sanctum of a person confessing his sin to God is a place we are never allowed. The exception to the rule is Psalm 51.
-
Words can be cheap, but the right words have the power to save
My attendance at a recent Veterans’ Day program placed me within earshot of some words that characterized not only that gathering, but also provided some rich food for thought. Referring to veterans past and present, a speaker said, “We will never forget your sacrifice for us.”
-
Grinch had it right: Christmas doesn’t come from a store
December marks the beginning of winter which, to the joy of many children (and child-like adults), means the beginning of the snow season. And speaking of children, December is when we celebrate the saint of children – Saint Nicholas, known more commonly in the West as Father Christmas, Santa Claus. And if we spend this cold winter month in the quiet embrace of our families, then we end it with a bang.
-
Giving thanks is oft times overlooked on Thanksgiving
One has to admit that Thanksgiving has grown into quite an important and beautiful holiday since back in 1863 when President Lincoln first proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving. However, I believe that in too many homes the one thing that is missing from the Thanksgiving table is prayer and moments of discussion of the various blessings of life which enabled us to reach this day.
-
The good and bad about the Wall Street protesters
They may have left the front page, at least most days, at least for now. But they most certainly have not left Zuccotti Park in Manhattan’s financial district. It seems that the Occupy Wall Street protesters, who’ve inspired similar acts of civil disobedience around the country and overseas, advocate some sort of direct government intervention, to “level” the economic playing field.
- More Religion Headlines
-
Are we terminal generation? Signs suggest so; are you ready?
